Soul Eater and a Vampire
by JMHomon
Summary: After defeating the kishin Asura, Maka and Soul have recollected the 99 kishin souls required to turn Soul into a Death Scythe. With Lord Death's guidance, they've set their sights on the last witch soul: Ruby's soul. With Tsukune, Moka and the others on vacation, Ruby has returned to the human world. Can they avoid an all-out war between the world's two most powerful schools?
1. Chapter 1

Lord Death stood looking in his mirror deep within his Death Chamber. He watched the image of a bus that was projected onto the glass with grave concern. Just then, he heard two people entering the Death Room. He turned to see his star pupils Maka Albarn and her partner Soul Eater coming in to see him.

"Hey, hiya, how ya doin'?" he asked, "So glad you could make it."

"Scythe Meister Maka reporting, sir," Maka answered, "You wanted to see us?"

"Yes, yes, I'm well aware of that," the Reaper said, "First of all, congratulations are in order. You've managed to recollect the 99 kishin egg souls that you needed to transform Soul into a Death Scythe. Now all that's left is to collect the soul of a witch."

"Yeah, we know," Soul told him, "I've been looking forward to this for a long time now."

"But we haven't taken any missions yet," Maka added, "We don't want a repeat of last time. Can you please recommend a good job for us?"

"Of course," Lord Death told her, "That's why I called you in here in the first place."

Soul and Maka looked relieved when they heard that. They knew this would be an easy task. They've already defeated one witch, and even a kishin, so defeating another witch should be no problem.

"Now then," Death continued, "I'm sure you've heard of the Witch Hill incident before?"

"Yes," Maka answered, "There have been reports of people disappearing from a sunflower field in Japan. Rumors have suspected that a witch was responsible, but no one could prove it. Eventually, the disappearances just suddenly stopped."

"Yes, that's basically the gist of it," he told her, "The rumors all point to a witch by the name of Ruby Tojo. She had ruthlessly attacked any human who approached her hill. She had almost destroyed it at one point. But suddenly, she just disappeared without a trace. We had assumed that she was dead, but we have received word that she has reappeared. If she were to resume attacking humans, it would certainly be disastrous. And that is why I'd like you two to find her and defeat her."

"All right," Soul asked, "But what if this turns out to be yet another wild goose chase?"

"Don't worry. Since I am personally giving you this mission, if something like last time happens, I won't take away the other 99 kishin souls. You have nothing to worry about."

"Then we'll take it," Maka said, "Just tell us where to find her."

The bus shown on the mirror was actually the bus to Yokai Academy. It was taking the Newspaper Club out on their annual club trip to the Human World. Once the bus finally got out of the Tunnel of the Fourth Dimension, its passengers looked out into the bright world of the humans.

"I can't believe we're finally back here," Tsukune Aono, the academy's lone human student said, "It feels like ages since I've been back home."

"I know," Moka Akashiya told him, "It must be awful for you to be so far from home."

"Well, whatever," Kurumu Kurono said, "What matters now is that we're here."

"Totally," Yukari Sendo added, "This is going to be great! It'll be just like last time!"

"Well, not exactly," Ginei Morioka told them, "Since this time I get to come with you guys."

"Oh, you're still here Gin?" Mizore Shirayuki asked, "You haven't molested anyone yet, so I thought you left."

"Now, now," their teacher, Ms. Nekonome, interrupted, "Let's not ruin this trip by arguing all the time."

"She's right," Ruby Tojo added, "We've come all the way to the Human World. We should enjoy every moment of this trip."

"Oh, that's right," Tsukune told her, "I almost forgot that this is a homecoming for you too Ruby. How did you convince the Director to let you come on this trip anyway?"

"Well," she began, "It's a long story. A really, really long story."

"There she goes again," Moka said as Ruby told her long story without anyone listening, "Anyway Tsukune, Ruby's right. We should try to enjoy this trip as much as possible. It'll be great as long as we're together."

"Oh, Moka…" Tsukune sighed.

"Oh, Tsukune…"

"Moka…"

"Tsukune…"

"Moka…"

"Tsukune… You smell good…"

"Huh? Wait, what?"

"Sorry…" she told him, "I can't help myself… because I'm a vampire!"

CHOMP! Sluuuuuurp…

"Stop it Moka!" Kurumu yelled, "You can't keep sucking poor Tsukune's blood like that! Ruby, stop her!"

"So you see," Ruby said, still in her story, "It's such a very long story."

The bus reached its stop and the Newspaper Club all got off. Tsukune was the last one off. He gathered his things and prepared to leave.

"Everything's going to be all right," he thought to himself as he stepped off the bus, "This time, nothing is going to get in the way of us having a good time. It'll be great."

"Heh heh heh… don't fool yourself kid."

Tsukune turned to face the bus driver who seemed to be reading his mind.

"Yokai Academy is a school of monsters, by monsters, and for monsters," he explained, "But if you think that this is the only dangerous school around, you've got another thing coming."

Before Tsukune could ask what he meant, the doors closed and the bus drove off.

That night, the Newspaper Club was setting up their tent on the beach. They agreed to go to the same spot they went to on their first trip. As they were setting up camp, Ms. Nekonome came to check on them.

"All right everybody," she told them, "I trust you've got everything under control here? In that case, your teacher is going to go out and get us some nice yummy fish!"

"Um, Ms. Nekonome," Tsukune began, "Is this why you wanted us to come to the Human World in the first place?"

"Mreow? Uh, I'll be right back! Don't wait up!"

"Wait Ms. Nekonome!" Kurumu called, "Your tail is out!"

Ms. Nekonome looked down at her cat tail that was now exposed. She quickly covered it and ran off.

"I'm getting some serious déjà vu here," Yukari commented, "Does this have to happen every time?"

"Well, I don't mind," Kurumu said, "At least she's out of our hair now."

"I know what you mean," Gin said as he grabbed Kurumu's breasts, "Now we can do whatever we want."

"I'm impressed he held off for so long," Mizore observed as Kurumu beat the crap out of Gin, "He might have actually been showing some restraint."

Moka started to laugh, but stopped as she looked amongst her friends. "Hey guys?" she asked, "Where did Ruby go?"

While the rest of her friends were back at the camp, Ruby had snuck off to the hill nearby the beach: Witch Hill. She thought back to when she once called this hill her home. She used to hate humans so much, killing anyone who came to her hill. But once she met Tsukune, her point of view has changed considerably since then. She gazed out over the field of sunflowers as she considered her past and present.

"It's amazing," she said to herself, "I've changed so much since then, and yet this hill is still exactly the same. I was so wrong back then. But now…"

She didn't get to finish her thought as she became aware of someone approaching her from within the shadows of the trees.

"Who's there?" she called out.

As an answer, a scythe swung out of the shadows aimed directly at Ruby. She managed to avoid the attack and backed away from her assailant.

"Who are you?" Ruby asked, "What do you want with me?"

"My name's Maka," her attacker told her, "I'm a scythe meister, and I'm here to take your soul."

"A meister?" Ruby thought, "Then that means…!"

She drew her wand to defend herself. She couldn't bring herself to kill Maka after what Tsukune showed her, but she still had to fight. Her wand glowed and her six black wings appeared behind her.

"Be careful out there, Maka," Soul told his partner from within his scythe form, "We're still dealing with a witch here. It's not going to be easy."

"I know," she answered, "I'm sensing that she's a very powerful witch too. But something about her feels different from the other witches we've seen before. She seems almost harmless somehow. But still, we can't afford to take her lightly."

Maka rushed at Ruby and tried to slice her in half. Ruby blocked the attack and took flight. On a whim, she cast a spell on a nearby bush, revealing the Garigari plant that had been hidden there. The plant monster tried to devour Maka, but was quickly dispatched by the meister.

"No, I can't do that," Ruby thought to herself, "I can't use the plant monsters in this field to fight. I might get carried away and slip back into my old ways. But what can I do? I don't want to kill her. Please help me Tsukune!"

As if on cue, Ruby heard Tsukune's voice calling her name. She turned to look and saw Tsukune and Moka coming to find her.

"There you are Ruby," Tsukune said, "we've been looking all over for…"

He stopped as he saw Maka standing there with her scythe. She was looking at the newcomers as if unsure of them.

"Um," Moka began, "What's going on here?"

"Never mind that," Ruby told her, "I'll explain later. But first, we'll have to find some way to stop her."

"What's going on Maka?" Soul asked, "Why are you just standing there?"

"Those two over there," she explained, "There's something strange about them. The guy is just an ordinary human, but he seems to be close friends with Ruby. But that girl… there's something odd about her soul."

"What do you mean 'odd'?"

"I don't know," Maka told him, "But it's hard to tell exactly what she is. She's not a witch, and she's certainly not a human, but she doesn't seem to be a kishin either."

"Then what the hell is she?" Soul asked, "What's left?"

"I'm not sure," Maka answered, "But I'm afraid we might have to find out. You two!" she said turning to Tsukune and Moka, "Why are you defending her? Do you realize that girl is a witch?"

"'Why are we defending her?'" Tsukune asked, "It's simple: we're friends, that's why. But why are you fighting her in the first place?"

"I'm a meister," she explained, "That means that I hunt down souls that have strayed from the path. That witch is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people, so it is my duty to defeat her. I won't let anyone stand in my way!"

Maka slashed at Tsukune. He managed to jump out of the way, but he lost his balance and started to fall down.

"Tsukune!" Moka rushed to try to catch Tsukune, but his hand grabbed the rosary seal around her neck. The cross was removed, and Moka became enveloped in a bright light.

"The rosary," Ruby observed, "It came off! That means that Moka's inner vampire is being awoken!"

From within the light, they saw Moka undergo her transformation into an S-class vampire. Her hair turned from pink to silver, her eyes from green to red. And more frightening of all was her overabundance of incredible monster energy flowing out from her body.

"What's happening?" Maka asked, "Her soul, it's changing form! It's turning into another one altogether!"

"What do you mean?" Soul asked, "How is that possible?"

"I know what she is now," she answered, "We've run into one of those legendary monsters; a vampire!"

Moka's inner self looked directly at Maka. "So then," she said, "I assume that you were the one who woke me up?"

"Maka, calm down," Soul told his partner, "Your soul wavelength is getting out of control. You can't let your fear get ahold of you here."

"Easy for you to say," she answered, "You can't feel the kind of power that she's giving off."

"Why don't you come over here," Moka began, "And experience this power firsthand?"

Maka rushed at her opponent and attempted to slice her. Moka seemingly disappeared as Maka's blade missed its mark completely.

"Too slow," Moka said from behind her, "I think it's time for you to learn your place!"

She gave Maka a powerful kick in the back, sending her flying. She hit a nearby tree which splintered on impact. Soul transformed back into his human form and held his meister in his arms.

"Are you all right Maka?" he asked, "Say something!"

As a response, she struggled to get up, only to fall back into Soul's arms. She glared at the monster that defeated her so easily.

"Now listen up you two," Moka told them, "If you want to get to Ruby, you'll have to get through me first; and not just me, but there are more of us who would give our lives to protect each other. That's how we roll around here."

With that, Moka took the rosary from Tsukune and headed back to the camp with him and Ruby. Maka and Soul just stared in awe at how easily they were tossed aside.

"Damn," Soul remarked, "What are we going to do now? We can't give up on this just like that."

"Get the mirror," she told him, "We have to tell Lord Death about this."

Soul took out a small hand mirror and handed it to Maka. She breathed on it to fog it up and began writing in it.

"42-42-564," she said to herself, "Whenever you want him, knock on Death's door."

The mirror began to glow as it gave off a ringing sound, much like a telephone. Soon, the image of Lord Death's mask appeared on the mirror.

"Whassup? Whassup? Whassup?" the reaper asked, "Well, how's it going? Did you collect the soul of the witch Ruby?"

"Not yet Lord Death," she reported, "The witch seems to have some very powerful friends surrounding her. We can't get close to her." She hesitated before saying the next part, "One of them is a vampire."

"A vampire you say?" Lord Death asked, "Well, I can imagine that must have been quite a nasty surprise. Vampires are very powerful S-class super monsters; the strongest of all monsters. They are capable of transforming their overwhelming energy into pure power. I'm impressed that you've managed to survive that encounter."

"Even still," Maka told him, "We can't give up. We've already come this far. If we can defeat a kishin, then we should be able to beat a vampire."

"Kishin or not, from what you've told me, this vampire isn't alone. You may find it difficult to defeat so many powerful foes at once."

"In that case," Maka answered, "We'd like to call in some backup."


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, Maka and Soul were waiting outside the city for their friends to arrive. The bitter taste of defeat still burned in their mouths. Only one thing filled their thoughts as they waited impatiently for their friends: revenge. They wanted revenge against that vampire that had flattened, rolled up and tossed them aside so easily. The next time they fought, they were going to go all out.

"Where the hell is everybody?" Soul asked, "We've been waiting for hours."

"Yo!"

They turned to see their friend Black Star and his partner Tsubaki approaching them.

"I hear you got into some trouble last night," Black Star told them, "I guess I got to bail you out again."

"We're very sorry to keep you waiting," Tsubaki apologized, "I hope we haven't caused too much trouble."

"Don't worry," Maka told them, "Kid and Crona aren't here yet either. But why aren't you two with them?"

"Oh, that?" Black Star asked, "We were just on an extracurricular assignment a little while ago."

"Really?" Soul asked, "Well, did you bag a soul or two?"

"Uh huh," he answered, "And guess what: that means I just got soul number ninety-nine!"

"Wow, really?" Maka remarked, "That's wonderful! That means that you're just one step away from becoming a Death Scythe, Tsubaki!"

"I know," she answered, "Black Star is really good with collecting souls when he puts his mind to it."

"Now all I got to do," Black Star added, "Is take the soul of a witch, and Tsubaki will become a Death Scythe. And that's exactly what we're going to do once I save your sorry butts."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that," a voice from behind him said.

Everyone looked to see their friends approaching them: Death the Kid with his partners Liz and Patty Thompson, and Crona with his partner Ragnarok sticking out of his back.

"Hi guys," Maka told them, "I'm glad you guys could make it."

"Sorry we're late, Maka," Crona told her, "We kind of got lost on the way here."

"We gave the map to Kid," Ragnarok explained, "And that idiot won't look at it because it 'isn't symmetrical'."

"Yes, well anyway," Kid said, desperate to change the subject, "We need to focus on the task at hand. A witch on her own is bad enough, but if she's really being protected by a group of monsters - which includes a vampire - then this could very well be an unwinnable fight."

"You should do it, big sis," Patty told her sister, "You could beat those monsters easily."

"No way, Patty," Liz responded, "I could never take on those scary monsters. And will you tell me how you got me to agree to go on this suicide mission in the first place?!"

"I believe," Kid answered, "That you're exact words were, 'I'm not going to let you leave me alone with those scary monsters on the loose.'"

Liz didn't have a response for that one.

"As I was saying," he continued, "We can't rush into this blindly. If we're dealing with a vampire here, this is going to be a tough fight."

"I know," Maka concurred, "We need a plan. We'll have to strike them when they least expect it to catch them off guard. I doubt we'll be able to win against a whole army of monsters, but if we could divide and conquer…"

She drifted off mid-sentence. She spotted a familiar black cat wearing a hat walking towards them. The cat saw them, and ran towards them excitedly.

"There you guys are," the cat said, "I've been looking all over for you."

"Blair?" Maka asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you guys," she answered, "I heard you were going to fight some tough monsters, so I decided to come and help."

"Well, sorry to disappoint," Soul told her, "But I think we've already employed all the muscle we're going to need for this job."

"Damn straight," Black Star supported, "So just go ahead and go back home, cat. We don't need you here."

"Well, can I at least stay and watch?" Blair insisted, "I've come all this way, I should at least be able to see you win."

"I don't know," Maka said, "We're dealing with some pretty tough opponent's here. You'll probably just end up getting hurt."

"But don't you remember how I beat you the first time we met?" she countered, "I'm a lot stronger than I look you know."

The gang walked off with Blair close to their heels, knowing that there was no reasoning with her.

A few days passed since Ruby was attacked. The rest of the Newspaper Club had been on guard ever since then, keeping lookout at all times. Eventually, it came time for them to finally return to Yokai Academy. They had never been more relieved to go back to school before. All they had to do now was to wait for their teacher – who they had not seen since the first day – to come back with the bus.

"Where the hell is our teacher?!" Kurumu asked, "I want to get back to school as soon as we can!"

"You know," Yukari laughed, "I never imagined those words would ever come out of your mouth, Kurumu."

"Well, can you blame me?" she retorted, "We've been on edge since day one, so we haven't had the chance to relax like we planned to. I just want this crappy trip to be over."

"My, Kurumu," Yukari added, "I didn't realize how immature you were."

"Actually, the only immature one here is you," Kurumu said patting Yukari's flat chest, "Get my drift Pancakes?"

"Well, excuse me for being four years younger!" she yelled, "And there's much more to being mature than that!"

"Calm down, guys," Tsukune told them, "Let's not get into a fight now. We're almost at the end of this trip."

"Do you want me to cool their heads off?" Mizore asked.

"Yeeek, no, don't do it!" Kurumu squealed, "You'll just freeze us solid!"

"Hey, wait a minute Mizore," Moka interrupted, "Weren't you supposed to be on lookout?"

"Don't worry about that," she assured her, "I've got ice crystals floating in the air around us for half a mile in each direction. I can use these to get a feel of what's going on around us at all times. If anyone's gonna come here, I'll know about it no matter how well they keep hidden."

"Wow, you can do that?" Moka asked, "That's amazing. Now we'll know if we're about to be attacked here."

"It won't do any good," Ruby told them. She gazed up at the moon with apprehension.

"What do you mean?" Moka asked.

"Even if we know they're coming," she explained, "We won't be able to win in a fight. Yukari and I Looked at them through a crystal ball, and we both sensed some kind of great power in those two. Not only that, but they've called in reinforcements, so there's more of them. I doubt that we'll have a chance against them."

"Don't worry about that," Gin assured her, "With two S-class monsters here, they won't stand a chance. I'll take care of them. I won't let anything hurt Moka!"

With that, Gin wrapped his arms around Moka and tried to kiss her. She struggled to keep away from his lips. Before he could do anything, Mizore showed up, froze him, and dragged him away.

"Anyway," Moka said once everything calmed down, "Gin's right. With all of us together, there's nothing we can't face. The seven of us working together can take on anything."

"She's right, Ruby," Tsukune added, "We're not going to let anything happen to you. We'll protect you."

"Oh, Tsukune!" Kurumu squealed, burying his face in her chest, "Will you be my protector too?"

Before Tsukune could suffocate, Mizore froze Kurumu and dragged her away.

"Hey, what the hell was that for Stalker Girl?!" Kurumu said once she broke free, grabbing the collar of Mizore's shirt.

"I thought that you needed to cool off," she answered calmly.

"Oh, yeah?" Kurumu asked, "Do you want to start with me? I'll shred you into ice cubes!"

"Heads up," Mizore said, turning her attention towards the forest, "We've got company."

Everyone turned towards where Mizore indicated. They heard rustling coming from the bushes. Mizore shot an icicle in the direction of the noise. Black Star leapt out of the bushes to avoid being hit. When they realized their cover was blown, the rest of the meisters emerged from the forest.

"Damn it," Black Star cursed, "How did they know we were here?"

"So much for the element of surprise," Kid observed, "But we're here anyway. We'll have to fight our way through with force."

"Are these the monsters you were telling us about Maka?" Crona asked.

"Apparently so," she answered, "That girl with the long dress is the witch. I have a feeling that the others will try to protect her, so we'll have to deal with them first."

"Do you have any idea what their true forms might be?" Kid asked.

"The girl with the pink hair is the vampire," Maka told them, "So leave her to me. As for the rest, it's hard for me to identify them, since I haven't seen too many different monsters before… but wait! It looks like there's another witch amongst them."

"What? Really?" Black Star asked, "Which one is it?"

"The little one," she said pointing at Yukari, "She's the witch."

"Oh, no," Moka said, "Now they're coming after Yukari too."

"Fine, let them try," Kurumu growled, "If they want to get to Ruby or Yukari, they're gonna have to get through me first."

"Kurumu…" Yukari started.

"That makes two of us," Gin added, "Anyone who wants to hurt a member of my club is going to get hurt."

"Same here," Mizore concurred, "We can't let them get past us."

"I agree," Moka told them, "If we have to fight, then we're going to have to work together to protect them."

As both sides prepared to rush into battle, they heard someone else approaching. They all turned to see Ms. Nekonome approaching with a big basket of fish.

"Sorry I'm late everybody," she called out, "But look at all this yummy fish I brought."

"Ms. Nekonome," Tsukune shouted, "You were supposed to bring the bus with you!"

"Oops," she mewed, "Sorry everyone. I guess I got a little sidetracked."

"Shizuka?" Blair said emerging from the trees, "Is that you?"

Ms. Nekonome looked at the cat who transformed into her human form.

"Oh my gosh!" she gushed, dropping her basket of fish, "Blair!"

The two catgirls ran towards each other and embraced each other in a big hug.

"It's been so long," Blair told her, "I haven't seen you since high school."

"I know," Nekonome replied, "I've missed you so much. How have you been?"

Both sides of the fight stared at the two cats with confusion on their faces.

"Um, Blair?" Maka started, "What's going on?"

"Who is this girl Ms. Nekonome?" Tsukune asked.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Blair said turning to her friends, "This is Shizuka Nekonome, my best friend from high school. Shizuka, this is Maka, Black Star, Kid and Crona. I met them when I moved to Death City."

"And these," Nekonome gestured towards her students, "are the members of my Newspaper Club: Tsukune, Moka, Kurumu, Yukari, Gin, Mizore and Ruby. Guys, this is my old friend Blair Gatojo. We've known each other since we were kittens."

The two cats resumed their catching up blissfully unaware of what was going on around them.

"Hey," Mizore interrupted, "Not to break up a reunion here, but aren't we in the middle of a fight?"

"Yeah, that's right!" Black Star yelled, "You're not getting away that easily!"

"Come on guys," Maka told her friends, "Let's take care of these guys."

The four meisters rushed forward into battle.

"Tsukune," Moka said, "Take Yukari and Ruby and get them to safety."

"Uh, right," he answered as he led the two witches away from the fight.

"Everyone," she continued, "We can't let them get any farther than this. We have to protect our friends."

"Oh, don't worry," Kurumu answered, "They're not going to lay a finger on them as long as I can help it."

The four remaining monsters ran up to meet their opposition. Both sides branched off into four fights: Maka vs. Moka, Black Star vs. Kurumu, Kid vs. Gin and Crona vs. Mizore.

"Come on now," Black Star said, "I can't fight a girl."

"Good, then this'll be fun," Kurumu told him as her razor-sharp nails elongated to full length and her bat-like wings emerged from her back.

"Whoa!" Black Star yelled as he dove out of the way of Kurumu's attack, "What the hell was that?"

"Careful, Black Star," Tsubaki said from inside her weapon form, "That girl is a succubus, and a strong one too. You'll need to be careful not to get hit by her attacks."

"All right," he answered, "But if we can't attack her back, we can't go after the witches. We'll need to hit her while she's still in the air. Tsubaki, Shuriken Mode!"

Tsubaki transformed into her large throwing star form. Black Star threw her as hard as he could at Kurumu. She dodged the attack easily and swooped down for another strike.

"Is that all you got?" she taunted, "This is going to be too easy. You're not even trying, are you?"

"Don't underestimate me," Black Star growled, "Tsubaki, Kusarigama Mode!"

While Kurumu was busy toying with Black Star, Kid and Gin were busy sizing each other up.

"You know," Gin told him, "The moon sure is pretty tonight. It may only be a half-moon, but it'll do."

"The moon?" Kid asked, "Oh, so I take it that you must be a werewolf, based on the shape of your soul."

"Sure am," he answered, "We're second only to vampires in terms of skill and power. But when it comes to speed, we're unbeatable."

And with that, Gin transformed into his true form. His hands morphed into sharp claws, his face elongated to a muzzle, and his body sprouted fur all over. Once his transformation was complete, he let loose a terrifying howl.

"You're not going any further," he told Kid in a distorted voice.

"That's what you think," Kid responded, "Ready girls?"

"Okay!" Patty cheered from in her weapon form.

"Uh… 'kay," Liz said reluctantly.

Kid aimed his twin pistols at a fast-approaching Gin and fired. Gin disappeared before the shot could reach him.

"Hey," he taunted from a tree behind Kid, "What are you aiming at? I'm over here."

"Damn," Kid cursed, "I didn't even see him move. So this is the true power of a werewolf."

As Kid struggled against Gin, on the other end of the battlefield, Crona and Mizore stood facing off against each other. An icy aura surrounded Mizore as claws made of ice grew around her hands.

"What's the matter?" she asked Crona who was trembling, "You've never seen a snow woman before?"

"No, it's not that," he blushed, "It's just that I've never met anyone as pretty as you."

Mizore gasped as color filled her cheeks. She smiled at him.

"I appreciate the compliment," she told him, "And you're not half-bad looking yourself. Still, I can't let you guys hurt my friends. Sorry about this."

She fired an icicle from her hands at Crona. Instead of impaling him, however, the icicle shattered on impact. Black blood dripped from the spot where the icicle had hit.

"What… what is that?" Mizore asked, "Black… blood?"

"Crona," Ragnarok told his meister, "Get your head in the game. I hardened the blood in your chest to keep you from getting killed. If it weren't for me and my black blood, you'd be dead right now."

"Yeah, right, sorry," he apologized.

"Now I see," Mizore observed, "His blood hardens to become a shield. My ice attacks are completely useless on this guy. But I should still be able to freeze him no matter how hard his blood is."

Before Mizore could formulate her battle strategy, she heard Moka's cries of distress from the far end of the battlefield. Everyone turned from their own fights to watch Maka pressing hard against Moka with attack after attack from her scythe. Moka was doing everything she could to avoid being hit, but she couldn't hold up much longer.

"Nice going, Maka," Soul told his partner, "You've got to keep pressuring her to keep her from using her powers. We need to finish her off before she transforms."

"Yeah, I know that," she answered, "We have to make this a quick fight if we're going to beat her."

Maka sped up the frequency of her attacks to push Moka back where she wanted her. All that Moka could do now was dodge and back away. As she did so, the rosary on her chest started glowing.

"You idiot!" her inner self told her, "What were you thinking? You know you can't fight an opponent like this by yourself. You're going to get us both killed."

"But still," Outer Moka answered, "I have to protect them. I have to protect Tsukune!"

"…You really love that idiot, don't you?" Inner Moka sighed, "I swear, both of you are morons."

Soon, Moka had been backed up too far, and the next slash knocked her on her backside. She looked up at Maka who was readying her final strike.

"We've got her now, Soul," Maka told him, "It's over!"

Before the scythe could reach Moka, Tsukune dove in and pushed her out of the way, resulting in a huge gash in his back.

"Tsukune?!" Moka gasped, "What… What are you…?"

"I couldn't leave you like this," he answered arduously, "I had to make sure you were all right."

A tear fell down Moka's cheek as Tsukune ripped the rosary from her chest. Light flashed as Moka underwent her transformation.

"The vampire is unleashing her true power now," Kid observed, "We're in trouble now."

"All right, Moka!" Kurumu cheered, "Take care of these jerks!"

"Trying to do too much as usual," Inner Moka told Tsukune, "You're a fool; you and my other half. Still, you saved my ass, so thanks for that."

"Damn," Soul cursed, "We're too late. Now we have to deal with a full vampire."

"At least this time," Maka observed, "We've seen how she fights once before, so we're a little more prepared."

"But still," he continued, "What can we do against an opponent like this?"

"Well," Maka mused, "There's one thing we can try."

"You're right. There's always that."

Maka swung her scythe over her head and took her stance.

"Let's go: Soul Resonance!" Soul and Maka said in unison.

Power surged from meister to weapon and back again. Their souls grew in power until Soul's blade began to glow and changed shape.

"Do you really think," Moka laughed, "That an attack like that will work on me?"

"We'll just have to see, won't we?" Maka asked, "Witch Hunter!"

Maka rushed at Moka with her powered-up scythe. Moka answered the attack with a powerful kick. The two attacks met and locked up. But even with the new power coursing through Soul's blade, Moka was still more powerful, knocking meister and weapon several feet away."

"Damn it," Soul yelled, "It's still not enough!"

"Then we'll have to step it up a notch," Maka told him, "We need to increase our resonance rate!"

Even more power surged through the two as their souls were pushed to the limit.

"Don't waste your time," Moka told them, "No matter how strong it is, a Witch Hunter technique isn't enough to beat me."

"That's why," Maka answered, "We're not using Witch Hunter."

"What?!"

Soul's blade grew even larger and changed shape to become more angular. The amount of power radiating from the new attack astounded everyone present.

"What is that?" Gin asked.

"Genie Hunter!" Maka called out as she rushed at Moka.

Moka blocked the attack, but was pushed back by the force of the blow. She struggled to push back the new attack.

"Get 'em, Maka!" Black Star yelled.

"You can do it, Moka!" Kurumu shouted.

Despite giving everything she had, Moka was eventually bested by the attack and was thrown flying back with a long gash across her chest. She slammed into a tree near the road and crumpled onto the ground.

"She did it," Crona smiled.

"No way," Mizore breathed, "She beat Moka?"

Moka coughed up blood as Maka approached her for the final blow.

"So foolish…" Moka puffed as she struggled to get back on her feet.

"Now," Maka began, "Where's the witch?"

Moka simply glared up at Maka without saying anything. Maka readied her finishing blow. But before she could attack, she sensed another soul approaching them at high speed. She turned just in time to see a girl with bright orange hair and a pet bat crash into her with a bike. Maka was knocked down and Genie Hunter was broken.

"What the hell…?" Moka began.

"Big sister!" Kokoa Shuzen squealed when she saw Moka.

Before Moka could say anything, Kokoa hugged her sister tightly. Moka let out a cry of pain in spite of herself. Kokoa noticed the wound that her older sister had sustained.

"Big sister," she said, "You're hurt. What happened to you?"

Kokoa turned towards Maka who was just now getting up.

"You're responsible," Kokoa growled, "I'll kill you!"

"What's with this girl?" Soul asked, "She's giving off some seriously wicked power."

"It looks like she's another vampire," Maka answered, "She's not as powerful as the other one, but she's a lot more aggressive. She may even be more dangerous than the first one."

"No, Kokoa," Moka told her sister, "She could kill you with one shot!"

"Don't worry, big sis," she answered, "She's not going to live long enough for that. Kou buddy, transform!"

"Right away, Miss Kokoa, whee!" the bat said.

Kokoa squeezed the bat until he transformed into a giant mace. She readied herself to rush at her opponent. Before either opponent could move, they felt the ground start to rumble. Soon, a bus appeared and flew over their heads, landing on the other side of the road before skidding to a halt. The doors opened up, and the Yokai Academy bus driver sat at the wheel with a cigar in his mouth.

"Looks like you kids got into a little trouble," he said, "Need a lift?"


	3. Chapter 3

Tsukune and the others couldn't believe their luck. Just when they needed a way out the most, the bus finally shows up. The members of the News Club all ran towards the bus as their lives depended on it.

"Wait a minute," Black Star yelled, "You're not getting away that easily!"

Before the meisters could chase them, a giant wall of ice separated them from the bus.

"Sorry," Mizore told them, "But we've got somewhere to be. We'll have to finish this later."

The monsters all got on the bus one by one. Tsukune was the last one on, as he was helping a wounded Moka on board. The doors closed and the bus took off toward Yokai Academy. Fortunately, the rest of the club saw that Yukari and Ruby were already on the bus.

"Oh my god," Yukari gasped when she saw Moka, "What happened?"

"Moka got hurt," Tsukune told them, "That girl with the scythe did this."

"You're kidding," Ruby said, "But Moka beat her so easily the last time. How could she beat invincible Moka?"

"Sure," Moka huffed, "Rub it in, why don't you."

"Sorry," Ruby apologized, "But still, how did this happen? I never thought that anyone would be able to beat you in a battle of raw power."

"I… may have underestimated what they were capable of," she admitted, "I never would have thought that a weapon meister would be so powerful."

"But wait," Yukari said, "If Moka can't even beat them, what are we supposed to do if they come back?"

"Don't worry," Kokoa told them, "If they're dumb enough to my big sister again, I'll show them the true power of a vampire. And then, we can finally be together again, Moka!"

Against her sister's protestations, Kokoa hugged Moka tightly, exacerbating her wounds. Fortunately, Mizore came to her rescue by freezing Kokoa.

"Anyway, Tsukune," Moka said once the commotion had died down, "I'd like you to hold on to my rosary for a while."

"But Moka," he began, "Are you sure about this?"

"Relax," she told him, "It's only temporary. I doubt that the other me would be able to deal with an injury like this. Once I've healed up, I'll gladly change back."

"All right," Tsukune acquiesced, "At any rate, we can finally relax, now that this confrontation is behind us."

"Heh," the bus driver laughed, "I wouldn't be so sure of myself if I were you, kid."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Ack, holy crap!" Kou screamed, "This battle isn't over yet! Look over there, wheee!"

They followed the bat's line of sight out the back window of the bus. From there, they saw the four meisters approaching from behind them. Maka was driving a motorcycle with Black Star riding from behind, Kid was flying on his jet-powered skateboard, Beelzebub, and Crona was using Ragnarok's wings to fly.

"There they are," Maka told her friends, "We've almost caught up to them."

"Ha, let me at 'em," Black Star said, "I'll show them not to mess with me."

"Crona and I will go on ahead," Kid told them, "We'll try to slow them down so you can catch up and board the bus."

"Yeah, okay," Maka answered, "Just be careful out there."

Kid and Crona zoomed toward the bus at full speed. Kid opened fire on the bus with his twin pistols. Everyone on board hit the floor and took cover as shots rained through the windows.

"Damn it," Gin cursed, "Don't these guys ever give up?"

"That's it," Kurumu said heading for the door, "I'm going to go take care of those guys."

"Wait Kurumu," Yukari started, "You can't fight them by yourself!"

"Maybe not," she admitted, "But we can't just sit here and let them kill us. If they make it on this bus, we're screwed."

With that, Kurumu opened the door of the bus, extended her wings and leapt out. She flew straight toward Crona with her claws bared. She hit him square in the chest, but her claws hit the black blood and stopped. Crona used the opportunity to counterstrike with his sword. Kurumu blocked, but was still knocked several feet away. Kid then fired upon her, hitting her wings and sending her tumbling to the ground.

"Kurumu!" Yukari called, "That tears it!"

"No Yukari," Moka said, "You're their target. You can't expose yourself."

"Who cares?!" she responded, taking out her magic wand, "I'm not about to let them get away with hurting my friends!"

She leaned out the window of the bus and aimed her wand directly at Kid. Seeing an opportunity, Kid aimed his pistols at her. But before he could react, a washtub appeared just inches from his face and he collided with it at full speed. He was knocked off of his skateboard and landed face-first on the road.

"Kid!" Black Star yelled.

"Damn," Kid groaned, "The rest is up to you guys!"

Knowing that he had to bring the bus down, Crona started to swoop down toward the bus. Yukari tried to hit him like she did with Kid, but Crona was quicker to respond and was able to dodge the washtubs easily. Despite Yukari's best efforts, Crona was able to get up close right next to the bus.

"He's got them now," Maka observed, "Get them, Crona!"

Crona had gotten right next to Mizore as he was about to attack. Mizore smiled sweetly at him, causing him to stop and blush. She then blew a kiss in his direction while exhaling an icy wind at him. Ice started to form on Ragnarok's wings, causing their flight to lose control.

"Crona," Ragnarok yelled, "Hey Crona! Snap out of it! We're losing control here! CRONAAAAAAAAAA!"

The two crashed into the ground, bringing Crona back to Earth in more ways than one. The two tumbled across the ground before finally coming to a stop. Crona looked up to see Mizore waving goodbye at him from the bus as it drove out of sight.

"That's two down," Mizore told her friends, "Now where are the other two?"

Before anyone could answer, they heard a loud thunk coming from the back of the bus. They rushed over and saw that Maka had jammed her scythe into the back of the bus, using Soul as a tether to the bus.

"Got 'em!" Maka yelled, "Now it's your turn, Black Star!"

"Ha, leave it to me," he answered, "These fools won't know what hit them."

Black Star jumped onto the handlebars of the motorcycle and began to walk across Soul to the bus. Gin tried frantically to detach the scythe from the bumper, but to no avail.

"Damn," he cursed, "It's not budging."

"What do we do now?" Ruby asked, "We're almost to the tunnel, and we can't let them follow us back to the Academy."

Yukari gasped. "Hey guys," she told her friends, "Look over there!"

Kurumu, who had been busy playing catch up until now, had finally caught up to them and was flying low and fast directly behind Maka. Extending her claws, she slashed at the back tire of her motorcycle, slicing the entire back wheel in half. Maka lost control of her vehicle, and it fell over, sending her and Black Star crashing to the pavement.

"All right, Kurumu!" Ruby cheered as she helped her friend back in.

"Yahoo hoo!" she laughed, "That ought to show them to mess with us!"

"Damn it," Black Star growled, leaping from the wreckage, "You're not getting away from me that easily! Speed Star!"

Black Star sprinted after the bus at blisteringly fast speed. He was quickly catching up to the vehicle without difficulty.

"Are you kidding me?!" Kokoa yelled, "What the hell do we have to do to get rid of these guys?!"

"Don't worry guys," Yukari said, I'll take care of him."

She took out her tarot cards and sent them flying with her wand. They flew all around Black Star like a swarm of bees, but he dodged every single one. It wasn't long before he broke free of the swarm altogether.

"It's going to take more than some paper cards," Black Star began, "To slow me down."

"Oh no," Yukari gasped, "It didn't work."

"Fine then," Mizore told her, "It's my turn. And unlike you, I won't miss."

Aiming directly at Black Star, Mizore fired several icicles at him. He dodged every one, weaving in between each shot. She then put up an ice wall between him and the bus, but he broke through the wall with ease. As a last ditch effort, Mizore blew a harsh blizzard at Black Star, but it barely even affected him.

"Geez," Mizore vexed, "What does it take to ditch this guy?"

"That settles it then," Ruby said, "I'll handle him."

"No Ruby, you can't," Tsukune told her, "They've been after you from the start."

"I know," she responded, "That means that I should have been fighting them a long time ago. This is my fight, and I'm sorry for dragging you guys into it."

With that, Ruby leaned out the back window of the bus, her six wings materializing on her body. She fired her razor-sharp feathers at Black Star without pause. Despite stumbling a few times, he never slowed down, and was soon just inches away from the bus. They entered a tunnel, and Ruby had to stop her attack.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, "I just couldn't do it."

"Like I said," Black Star growled, "You're not getting away that easily."

Just then, they finally reached the Great Barrier that separated the Human World from the Monster World. To an ordinary human, it appeared to be just a brick wall in the curve of a tunnel, but a monster is capable of passing through the barrier harmlessly. The bus slipped through the barrier quickly and got away, but Black Star didn't have time to react and slammed face-first into the wall.

"OW, MY FACE!" he yelled.

Maka and the others soon caught up to Black Star as he lay down on the ground cursing at the wall.

"What happened?" Crona asked, "Did you get them?"

"No," Black Star answered angrily, "Damn bastards just disappeared into this wall!"

"What do you mean 'disappeared'?" Kid asked, "Do you think it was a teleportation spell?"

"No," Maka told her friends, "They're still just ahead. I'm sensing that there's some sort of barrier here separating us from them. They seem to be heading toward some location deep inside this barrier."

"You can sense all that?" Soul asked, "Even through a magic barrier?"

"It's difficult," she answered, "But I'm sensing a mass of monster souls just a couple miles past this point. Hundreds – no, thousands of souls seem to be gathered at some sort of base in there."

"A base?" Kid asked, "You mean like an army base of sorts?"

"I'm not sure," she admitted, "But whatever it is, it can't be good."

"Well, that settles it," Black Star said, "We can't just sit back and keep quiet here. This is war now. It's kill or be killed."

"I agree," Maka concurred, "We can't face an army like this on our own. We'll have to regroup before we launch our attack."

The Newspaper Club made it back to Yokai Academy safe and sound. Moka was sent to the school's infirmary, Kokoa left to do her own thing, and Ms. Nekonome went to go report the results of the trip to the school's Director. The rest of the club had gathered at their meeting room.

"That was way too close," Tsukune sighed, "They almost found out about the Academy."

"I agree," Ruby concurred, "If they had found the Academy, who knows what would happen. We should all be glad we're still alive."

"But who were those guys?" Kurumu asked, "They seemed organized, but where are they coming from."

"Well actually," Yukari began, "Now that you mention it, I've been doing some research about meisters and weapons to find out that exact same thing; although, what I did find out so far wasn't exactly reassuring."

"Whatever it is," Gin told her, "Spit it out. We need to know what we're up against."

"Okay," she said, "Well, I did a little research on the internet, trying to find something about these people, and apparently there's a whole school full of these guys."

"A school?" Kurumu asked, "You mean like Yokai Academy?"

"Sounds pretty dangerous," Mizore commented.

"That's not all," Yukari continued, "They say that this school is run by the Grim Reaper himself."

"What?!" Tsukune shouted, "Are you serious?"

"I know it sounds like a joke," she agreed, "But every source I checked says the same thing. The school is called Death Weapon Meister Academy or DWMA for short. They train students to kill and consume the souls of ninety-nine evil humans and… and one witch."

"But why?" Kurumu asked, "It doesn't make any sense. Why would they be targeting witches? And why you two out of all witches?"

"I don't know," she admitted, "But one thing's for sure: the DWMA despises all witches."

"That's horrible," Tsukune said, "But at least, they don't know about this Academy yet."

"Uh, about that," Yukari added, "I've also been reading about this technique that meisters can use called Soul Perception. Apparently, meisters are able to read and identify people's souls and sense where they are. Some of the best meisters are even able to detect souls that are many miles away or are cloaked by magic."

"But wait," Ruby interrupted, "How do we know that this applies to our case?"

"Well," Yukari began, "From what I heard of the battle, that girl meister used a technique called Genie Hunter. I did a little research about it, and apparently, it's an upgraded version of the Witch Hunter technique. Only two meisters in history have been able to use, let alone perfect, a powerful technique like Genie Hunter."

"So that means," Kurumu said, "That this girl is one of the strongest meisters ever. Then her Soul Perception skill must be phenomenal!"

"Let me get this straight," Gin told Yukari, "We're dealing with a faction of super powerful weapon meisters that are led by the Grim Reaper, are trained to kill, hate witches, and now know about the existence of Yokai Academy?"

"Then that means," Ruby concluded, "That this is a hundred times worse than we first thought it was!"

"I agree completely," Yukari concurred, "We have to do something! We're sitting ducks here!"

"You're right," Tsukune told them, "We need a plan. I'll go talk to Moka. She needs to know what's going on here."

As Tsukune started to leave, Kokoa came in the room and the two crashed into each other.

"Hey, watch where you're going, you idiot!" she yelled.

"Sorry Kokoa," Tsukune apologized, "But what are you doing here anyway?"

"I need you're guys' help," Kokoa told everyone, "Moka's disappeared! I can't find her anywhere!"


	4. Chapter 4

The Newspaper Club combed the Academy from top to bottom, but Moka was nowhere to be found. Tsukune stood in the infirmary staring at the empty bed that Moka had been in not moments ago. He couldn't help but to worry that something terrible had happened to her. As he was lost in his thoughts, he heard Kurumu and Yukari enter the room.

"I've just checked all the dorm rooms," Kurumu reported, "But I couldn't find her anywhere."

"She must be trying to hide herself," Yukari observed, "I've been trying to find her through my crystal ball, but her energy is hidden from me."

"But why?" Tsukune asked, "Why would she need to try to hide from us? This doesn't sound like her."

"I don't know," Yukari admitted, "But if she's on campus, she's doing a good job of hiding herself."

"Except she's not on campus," Mizore said from the air vent.

"Waugh, Mizore?!" Tsukune jumped, "How long have you been in here?!"

"I don't keep track of time," she admitted as she got out, "But I've just checked every square inch of this campus and beyond simultaneously, and she's nowhere on the map."

"Are you sure about this?" he asked, "Maybe you may have missed something."

"Nope," she answered solemnly, "Sorry Tsukune, but Moka isn't anywhere within miles of this place."

Tsukune felt his heart sink. He had prayed that she might have stayed close so that he could protect her, but now he felt completely useless. He stared at the rosary in his hand and wondered if it was going to be the only thing he'd have to remember her by.

"What are we going to do now?" Yukari asked, "We've got an entire school full of killers coming after us! How are we going to stand up against them without Moka?"

"Well then," Kurumu growled, "We'll take care of this problem ourselves. We'll tell the students through the newspaper what's coming so we can prepare ourselves for an all-out war."

"But Kurumu," Yukari protested, "Without Moka, what can we do against-"

"Who gives a crap about Moka anyway?!" she interrupted, "That bitch abandoned us, so now we have to handle this on our own!"

"I hate to admit it," Mizore began, "But Bazooka Girl has a point. We can't rely on Moka to save the day all the time. Now that she's gone, we'll have to stand on our own."

"Yeah, but," Yukari began, "Can we really do this?"

"Of course we can!" Kurumu answered, "I don't care how many of them there are. There's no way they can stand up to a whole school full of monsters. And if we need to, we can also call in some outside help."

"Hold on," Tsukune asked, "What exactly do you mean by 'outside help?'"

Maka and the others made it back to the DWMA at long last. They headed straight for the school's library in order to make a strategy.

"Damn it," Black Star cursed, "If only they hadn't gotten away, we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place."

"Not quite," Maka told him, "If there really is an army of monsters on the other side of that barrier, they would be coming after us sooner or later. Now that we know about them, we can take care of this problem before it becomes one."

"Uh, yeah," Liz squeaked, "How about we not and just say we did?"

"We can't," Maka answered, "We've already committed to this mission, so we have to follow through."

"Do you think I'll get to see her again?" Crona asked dreamily.

"Wait a second," Maka told him, "Are you talking about that snow girl you fought?"

"Damn it, Crona," Ragnarok growled, "What the hell is wrong with you?! That bitch tried to kill you, and you're sitting here dreaming about her?!"

"Hey, don't talk about her like that," he told him, "She's not like that at all. She may be a little cold, but she's really sweet, and kind, and pretty…"

"Listen, Crona," Maka interrupted, "I know what you're feeling right now, but you need to put that aside. You have to remember that she's the enemy here."

"Huh?" he asked, "Oh, right…"

"What the hell is taking Kid so long?!" Black Star yelled, "Hasn't he found anything out by now?"

"Quit complaining," Kid told him as he was reading a book, "We need to know everything we can about this enemy if we want even a chance at defeating them."

"Alright already," he answered, "But haven't you found anything yet?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I have," he responded, "According to legend, three powerful monsters known as the Three Dark Lords created an alternate dimension hidden from the real world by a powerful barrier exclusively for monsters. In the center of this world is a school called Yokai Academy that trains monsters to be able to blend in with humans without their knowledge. This must be what Maka sensed through the barrier."

"But wait," Maka interrupted, "If a place like that really exists, how come we haven't heard about this before?"

"I can't say for sure," Kid answered, "Father's never been one to reveal what's going on in his mind. What I can say is that these monsters have somehow flown under our radar for so long that it will be hard for us to tell who's really a human and who's a monster."

"What are you saying?" Tsubaki asked.

"I'm saying," he responded, "That they could be anywhere now. They may have even been able to infiltrate the academy."

Just then, they heard their friends Ox Ford and Kim Diehl approach them.

"Hey guys," Ox told them, "We heard you were back, so we – Waugh!"

Before Ox could finish his thought, Black Star jumped on him and wrestled him to the ground.

"Is that so?" Black Star growled, "Admit it monster, you thought you'd try to sneak up on us and get rid of us while our guard's down! Well you're not going to get the better of me!"

"What are you talking about?" Ox asked, "It's me, Ox! I'm not a monster!"

"Oh, yeah?" he responded, "Then prove it!"

"Black Star!" Tsubaki stressed as she pried her meister off of Ox, "He's not a monster! Just get off of him already."

"Well anyway," Kim said once everything died down, "We heard you had a little bit of a run in with some monsters during your mission. What happened there? Did you get the soul?"

"No," Maka answered, "Unfortunately, they ducked into some sort of barrier before we could finish them off."

"A barrier?" she asked, "What kind of barrier are we talking about here?"

"Don't know," Maka admitted, "All we know is that it looks like an ordinary brick wall, and that a bus is capable of driving through it."

"From what we can tell," Kid added, "They appear to be holed up in some place called Yokai Academy."

"Wait a second," Kim began, "Did you just say Yokai Academy?"

"Do you know about it or something?" Liz asked.

"Uh… nope, nothing," she lied, "It just sounded like an odd name to me."

"Is that so?" Maka asked analytically.

"Well then," Kid continued, "I suppose that's a reasonable conclusion. As we were saying, we need to find a way to get through this barrier in order to complete this mission."

"Can't you just dispel the barrier?" Ox asked, "It would seem that that would be the easiest solution."

"That would be the worst thing we could do," he answered, "With that much concentrated monster energy being released into the world, it would certainly plunge the world into chaos."

"Oh," Ox responded, "I see."

"Anyway," Kid continued, "We still don't have enough information to launch an attack on Yokai Academy. We'll have to know everything we can about this enemy before we can even think about taking them on."

"But still," Soul interjected, "Even if it is a school, it's still an army of monsters we're going up against. There's not much we can do on our own."

"Ah, but you forget, Soul," Kid told him, "That we have an army of our own."

Everyone looked amongst themselves as they remembered their war against Arachnophobia and the kishin. They knew that they could count on the rest of the DWMA to back them up when they needed them.

"I take it," Ox began, "That Spartoi will be leading the charge in this battle?"

"But of course," Kid told him, "After all, we are the elites of the students here."

"You got that right," Black Star added, "There's no one who can beat us when it comes to fighting!"

"Alright," Kid said, "We'd better get moving. Ox and Black Star, you two go find Kilik, Harvar and Jacqueline and bring them back here. Liz, Patty, I want you to go spread the word about the upcoming battle. I will go talk to Father about setting up a strategy for attack. The rest of you continue research on anything related to Yokai Academy. We'll meet back here in one hour. Agreed?"

Everyone went off to do the tasks they were assigned. The only ones left were Maka and Kim. Maka smiled at her friend and placed her hand on her shoulder.

"Just so you know," she whispered, "I already know you're a witch."

Kim nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard that.

"Y-you know about that?" she stammered, "H-how did you…"

"Don't worry," Maka assured her, "It's just that my Soul Perception is strong, so I can see a witch's soul even if they have Soul Protect on. But it doesn't matter if you're a witch. You're my friend Kim, so I still trust you."

"Really?" Kim asked.

"Of course," she told her, "Oh, and don't worry; I haven't told anyone yet."

"T-thank you Maka," Kim said, "I'm glad that you feel that way. But please, do me a favor and don't tell Ox about this."

"I won't," Maka promised, "I'm sure you have your reasons for not wanting him to know. Well then, shall we get to work?"

"Yes," she answered, "We've got a long ways to go before we reach Yokai."

Over the next several days, Yokai Academy was in an uproar. The Newspaper Club published their newest edition of the Yokai Gazette which detailed their run-in with the meisters as well as everything they knew about the DWMA. Soon after that, everyone, students and teachers alike, began preparing themselves for battle. Most of the teachers had cancelled their classes so the students could focus on training. And the ones who didn't still encouraged them to give everything they had for the Academy. The News Club was no exception, spending their time divided between their paper and training to fight. Tsukune and the others were waiting in their meeting room.

"You know," Ruby said, "I had my doubts about fighting these guys without Moka, but things are really coming along. Everyone's been doing everything they can for the Academy that I really can't see us losing this fight."

"See?" Kurumu squealed, "I told you we didn't need her around. We can do this on our own. I've been practicing this new technique, and there's no way some stupid meister is going to beat me with this little trick under my sleeve."

"I agree," Mizore added, "They may be coming here expecting an easier fight, but they're going to get quite a nasty wake-up call."

"Well," Yukari began, "I know that everyone is working hard to protect the school, but I'm still not sure that we'll be able to do it. So just as a precaution, Ruby and I have been learning about this new spell called Soul Protect that is supposed to keep us hidden from the meisters' Soul Perception."

"Pfft," Kurumu laughed, "What do you think is going to happen? We can take them, so there's no need to go hiding from them."

"Yeah," she started, "But still, you can't be too careful."

"Oh, come on," Kurumu told her, "If I say we can take them, then we can take them. If you're too much of a little kid to stay, then go right ahead and hide."

"Shove it, Titty Pie!"

"But still," Tsukune said as Kurumu tried to strangle Yukari, "Are we really doing the right thing going up against them?"

"Come on, Tsukune," Gin told him, "You're not still hung up about Moka, are you? We still have to fight them with or without her. You're going to have to forget about her for the time being."

"You know how I feel about her," he answered, "I can't just forget about her. But that's not the problem."

"Oh?" Gin asked, "And just what is the problem then?"

"I'm just not sure we should fight them," Tsukune told him, "I think that this may all just be some big misunderstanding."

"What are you talking about, Tsukune?!" he asked, "You heard the girl yourself that she wanted to take Ruby's soul. What part of that was so hard to understand?"

"I don't know," he answered, "I just think that there's something that we're not seeing here."

"Fine then," Gin told him, "Let's assume for some bizarre reason that they aren't our enemies. What are we supposed to do now? They're the ones attacking us. We've spent the past few days preparing for attack. Are we supposed to just throw all that hard work down the drain and let them kill us all?"

"I don't know," Tsukune repeated, "I just don't know…"

Gin sighed, "Listen Tsukune," he said, "Maybe you need to take a rest. Why don't you just go home for a while? Visit your folks, maybe take a vacation. You wouldn't be much help here anyway. Just take some time to clear your head before you snap."

"But I can't leave you guys like this!" he answered, "They could show up at any second!"

Just then, they heard the door open. They turned to see a very familiar-looking girl standing in the doorway.

"Shizuka? Are you in here?" Blair asked, "Oh, it's you guys."

Immediately, Kurumu let go of Yukari and ran straight for Blair. She grabbed her shoulders and pinned her against the wall.

"You," Kurumu growled, "You were with those meisters. Now what do you think you're doing here? Are you trying to pick us off when we're least expecting it?"

"No, that's not it at all," Blair told them, "I was just trying to-"

Before Blair could finish her thought, Ms. Nekonome entered the room.

"Sorry I'm late guys," she began, "I got held up trying to – Oh my, what's going on here?"

"Oh, there you are Shizuka," Blair exclaimed, "I've been looking all over for you."

"Blair?" Nekonome asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I came to warn you," she answered, "The DWMA is coming to attack."

"We know about that," Ruby told her, "But what we want to know is how you managed to get through the Great Barrier in the first place."

"What do you mean, 'how I got through'?" Blair asked her, "I'm a graduate of this school. It's only natural that I would be able to make it in here."

"You…" Yukari began, "You're an alumna?"

"That's right," Nekonome chimed, "Blair and I were both in the same class here at this very school."

"We were pretty close friends," Blair added, "Weren't we, Shizuka? But wait, no, that's not what I came here for! Shizuka, we need to get out of here before Lord Death's army gets here."

"Why?" she asked, "When are they coming?"

"Right now," Blair answered, "They should be at the barrier at this very moment!"

"What?!" Kurumu yelled, "Well in that case, we'd better go give our new friends a traditional Yokai welcome. Let's go!"

"Right behind you," Mizore told her.

The rest of the Newspaper Club soon followed after. As they were leaving, however, Gin pulled Tsukune aside to talk to him.

"Hold on a second, Tsukune," he told him, "Before we go, I want to know something. What did you mean when you said that I knew how you felt about Moka?"

"Uh…" Tsukune said, "Let's just forget about that for now. We've got a job to do."

"Alright," Gin surrendered, "But we're not done talking about this."

With that, the two hurried off to battle.

Sure enough, the DWMA's army had gathered just outside the barrier. Every able-bodied meister and weapon pair had enlisted to help in the battle against Yokai Academy. Maka and her friends were standing right next to the barrier speaking to the DWMA's strongest meister Dr. Franken Stein and his partner Marie Mjolnir.

"So this," Stein began, "Is the place where you say that the bus to Yokai Academy disappeared to?"

"Yes professor," Maka answered, "I sensed that they were heading to a place that had a lot of monster souls gathered in one place. From what I can tell, that can only be Yokai Academy."

"That would seem to be the case," he responded, "I'm sensing some magical power coming from this wall. I assume that this must be the Great Barrier."

"What do you mean, 'Great Barrier'?" Black Star asked, "Is that what this is called?"

"That's correct," Stein told him, "The Great Barrier was created by the Three Dark Lords themselves to keep hidden the enormous amount of monster energy that would result from an entire student body of monsters. As such, no human can ever get through the Barrier."

"But if that's true," Marie started, "How are we going to get in?"

"Leave that part to me," Kid told her, "Father and I have a pre-established Soul Link that we will use to transfer his power through me to open a hole in the barrier. Maka, I'll need you to call on my Father through the mirror and give him the signal."

"All right," Maka replied, "I'm on it."

She pulled out her mirror and wrote the Death Room's number on the glass. The mirror rang and Lord Death's image appeared in the mirror.

"Well, hello there Maka," he told her, "Have you reached the barrier to the Monster World?"

"Yes, Lord Death," she reported, "Everything's all set. We're ready whenever you are, sir."

"Splendid, splendid," Lord Death chimed, "Now just sit back and leave the rest up to me. I'll take care of the barrier. You just be sure that everyone makes it through quickly. If we leave it open for too long, the monster energy could leak out into the world and cause all kinds of chaos."

"Of course Lord Death," Maka answered.

"Good," he told her, "Now tell Kid to get ready and aim at the barrier wall."

Maka did so, and Kid got into position. He pointed his arms at the barrier and waited. Soon, he felt incredible power coursing through his body. That energy was released from his arms and hit the barrier. Once the energy had left Kid's body, a hole opened up in the barrier, revealing a long, multicolored tunnel on the other side.

"The way is open," Maka called out, "Everyone hurry on through!"

Everyone ran inside the barrier into the tunnel. Maka stayed behind to make sure everyone made it through. Once the last meister made it in, Maka hurried inside as the hole closed up behind her.

"Everyone made it, Lord Death," she said into the mirror, "We've made it to the Monster World."

"Good job, Maka," Lord Death told her, "Now, all that's left to do is to make your way int…"

Before Lord Death could finish his sentence, his voice faded away and static filled the image. Soon, the image broke off entirely, and the mirror turned back to normal.

"Lord Death?" Maka said, "Lord Death, can you hear me?"

"What's going on, Maka?" Soul asked.

"I don't know how," she answered, "But somehow, I lost connection with Lord Death."

"Hello? Hellooooo?" Lord Death said into his mirror, "Well, that's strange. Now how could I have lost-"

Before Lord Death could complete his thought, another image appeared on the mirror. A hooded figure with glowing eyes sat at a long desk looking directly at him.

"Hello, Lord Death," it told him, "It's been a long time."

"Ah, I remember you," Lord Death answered, "I thought that school sounded familiar. Hi, how have you been all this time?"


	5. Chapter 5 first half

"What are you talking about Maka?" Black Star asked, "How could you lose touch with Lord Death?"

"I don't know," Maka admitted, "All I know is that somehow, I lost contact with him."

"Well we are in a tunnel," Black Star observed, "Do you think you just lost his signal?"

"Idiot," Kid told him, "My father doesn't need a signal to communicate through a mirror."

"Then what could it be then?" Kilik Rung asked, "Do you think that someone is blocking the connection?"

"It's very plausible," Ox observed, "We are on their home turf, and we don't quite know the extent of the Great Barrier."

"Well, what will we do now?" Kim asked, "If whatever is ahead is strong enough to block Lord Death's powers, what chance do we have against them?"

Maka thought about this for a moment. "We have to keep going," she said at last.

"Are you sure about this Maka?" Soul asked.

"We have no choice," she answered to everyone, "They have already made an enemy of the Academy. Lord Death himself has ordered us to take care of them before they become a problem. Besides, we can't turn back now with the Great Barrier in the way. Let's keep moving. It would probably be best for all weapons to remain in your weapon forms until this mission is over. For now, let's head on towards Yokai Academy."

Maka led her troops through the tunnel, relying on her Soul Perception to guide her to Yokai Academy. Soon, they found their way through the tunnel, and made it outside. They found themselves on a cliff overlooking a blood-red ocean. Off in the distance along the cliff, they saw an old, decrepit building that seemed to resemble a haunted mansion. Maka sensed that this must be Yokai Academy.

"Be careful," she told her friends, "I'm sensing that their soul wavelengths are increasing in power."

"Increasing?" Black Star asked, "But what does that mean?"

"It means," Kid began, "That they know we're coming. They've dropped their human guises and are preparing for battle."

"Right," Maka concurred, "We'd better circle around the place and attack from all sides. This could be a dangerous fight, so I won't force you to stay. Value the lives of our own over victory. If you feel the need to retreat, I won't keep you here. I'm counting on all of you to do your best."

Forging their way through the woods, Stein and his fellow teacher Sid Barrett rushed on ahead to draw attention to the front of the school, while the Spartoi circled around and struck from behind.

"We'll need to keep our guard up," Stein told his partner, "There's no telling what we may face up ahead. If they are capable of blocking Lord Death's powers, they may be stronger than we could ever imagine."

"Yeah, I'm aware of that," Sid answered, "Back when I was alive, I was always a very cautious man. We're going up against monsters here; there's bound to be more than a few surprises in store for us."

As if to prove his point, the ground underneath the two teachers gave way, and they had fallen into a large pit.

"It's a trap," Stein observed, "This means that they knew we were coming!"

"Oh, we knew all right."

They turned to find three average-looking guys were standing behind them.

"Who are you three?" Sid asked.

"I," the guy in the middle told them, "Am the president of the Moka Akashiya Fan Club, and resident karakasa, Kozo Kasahara."

"As for me," the short, pudgy one said, "I'm the president of the unofficial Kurumu Kurono Fan Club and noppera-bo, Bozaburo Taira."

"And I," the skinny-looking one added, "I'm president of Yukari Sendo's Private Fan Club and a rokurokubi, Kubisaku Nagai."

"Together," they all said in unison, "We form the Cute Girls Fan Club Coalition!"

Silence filled the air as Sid and Stein waited for the hidden camera crew to come out.

"Seriously?" Stein asked, "This is who they put on the front line?"

"What was that?" Kasahara asked, "Wait, are you dissing us?"

"The rokurokubi, karakasa and noppera-bo are among the weakest breeds of monsters there are," Stein explained, "It would be child's play for us to defeat you."

"What did you just say?" Nagai started, "Why don't you come here and let us show you just what 'weak breeds' we are!"

"That's enough out of you three."

Everyone turned to see Yokai Academy's biggest playboy, Saizo Komiya, standing on the edge of the pit.

"You've already done your job," Saizo told the Coalition boys, "You were supposed to set the trap, and that was it. Now let the real monsters take it from here. You weaklings couldn't even beat Tsukune. You won't have a shot against real opponents."

"Hey, don't play the Tsukune card on us," Taira retorted, "After all, you were beaten by him even quicker than we were!"

Saizo shot a murderous glare at the three, who immediately cowered from the bully.

"Just shut up," he growled, "And let me show you how it's done."

With that, the playboy transformed into his true form, an orc, and tried to attack Sid. Before he could touch the zombie, however, a rain of swords dropped down from the sky and embedded themselves in the ground around them. Mifune appeared between the two and made a slash at Saizo. The orc had just enough time to back away from the attack.

"What the hell?" Saizo asked, "Where did you come from?"

"You shouldn't get so careless," Mifune told Sid, "Let your guard down for even a second, and it could cost you your life."

"It's ironic, really," Sid observed, "The last time we met on the battlefield, we were on opposing sides. Now, here we are, fighting for the same goal."

"We may be in a bit of trouble," Stein commented, "I doubt we would so severely overestimate an enemy like this. If this is their defenses for the front line, they must have anticipated our battle plan and prepared to counter it."

"I couldn't agree more," Sid added, "What's worse is that this enemy is virtually unknown to us, so it's impossible to tell how strong they are or what they're capable of."

"Hey, are you ignoring me?!" Saizo roared, "I'll show you to mess with me!"

He rushed at the teachers ready to attack. They all focused their attention immediately to their opponent.

"Looks like we'll have to deal with that later," Mifune told them, "Because right now we have other problems. Let's just hope the kids can deal with whatever tough opponents they have to fight.

Ageha Kurono cursed her luck. She couldn't believe that she cancelled two dates to rush out to her alma mater for this.

"Just my luck," she muttered to herself, "My daughter asks me to come all this way out here to help, and I end up getting tucked away in this far corner of the school. And worst of all, they put me here next to HER."

Ageha shot a venomous glare at her longtime rival Tsurara Shirayuki, who was discussing the battle plan with Fujiko Sendo, who simply nodded in affirmation. Tsurara smiled when she saw her rival looking daggers at her.

"Well then," she said, "I believe that covers the strategy portion of this battle. Did you understand all of that Ageha? Or do I have to dumb it down for your simple mind to grasp."

"I have to admit," Ageha retorted, "It was rather difficult, what with you being so unbelievably boring and all. But you needn't worry about me; I'm a lot smarter than I look, you know."

"Of course," Tsurara added, "It must be so nice for you to have to think with only TWO brains."

"You take that back!" she shouted, "You're just jealous because you haven't had a date in ages while I have more men than I know what to do with!"

"How unfortunate," Tsurara chided, "I guess that the only thing you're good for is being a tramp."

Poor Fujiko silently watched this back-and-forth between Tsurara and Ageha, getting incrementally more terrified each time one of them said something.

"You know," Tsurara added, "It's really quite a shame. You really haven't changed a bit since high school. You're just as much of a hussy as you were back then!"

"And you're still a stubborn stalker who doesn't know when to give up!" Ageha shouted, "You haven't learned anything when you drove Gonzo away with your hanging onto him like white on rice!"

"Like you're one to talk, Ageha!" she countered, "You practically prostituted yourself to him and he wouldn't even give you the time of day!"

"I know you did not just say that," she growled.

"I believe that it's time," Tsurara began, forming her ice claws, "For us to end this fight once and for all."

"Fine then," Ageha agreed, extending her own claws, "Give me an excuse to put a few holes in that pretty face of yours."

Before either side could launch an attack, Fujiko leapt in between the two women to try to break them up.

"Fujiko!" Ageha exclaimed, "What are you doing?! Get out of our way now, or else-"

Ageha was unable to finish her thought as Fujiko began pointing frantically toward the forest on the edge of the school. The two rivals turned to see Kilik emerge from the underbrush.

"Well, well," he said to himself, "What do we have here? A snow woman, a witch and a succubus, if I'm not mistaken; a worthy set of opponents, I can tell. Nevertheless, I shall be able to handle them in no time. Pot of Fire, Pot of Thunder, it is time for us to battle!"

He crashed his twin gauntlets together, and they sparked with flame and electricity respectively. The three moms each took a step back from their opponent.

"Tch," Ageha mused, "This brat is pretty powerful; more than a match for any of us on our own."

"I suppose it can't be helped," Tsurara concurred, "Shall we form a temporary truce to deal with this obstacle?"

"Very well," the succubus agreed, "Truce it is."

"I already told you, Ox," Kim said as she circled around the school, "I can handle this on my own. I don't need you hanging around me."

"Oh, no my dear," her unwanted guide answered, "I couldn't bear to let you get hurt. Therefore, it is my duty to do all that I can to protect you."

"What am I, chopped liver?" Jacqueline asked from her lantern, "I'm her weapon partner, so it's my job to protect my meister."

"I'm sorry, Jacqueline," Ox continued, "But as long as this enemy remains unknown, I cannot let you two fall into any harm. Besides, I also promised Harvar that I wouldn't let anything happen to you either."

"Hey," his partner exclaimed from inside his spear form, "Don't bring me into this!"

Ox stopped in his tracks and turned his attention toward the school. Kim noticed this and stopped too.

"What do you see?" she asked.

"I think," Ox answered, "We may have been spotted. I'm sensing two powerful monster souls approaching us from the school. We'll have to meet them at the school itself; we can't afford to give them a territorial advantage."

Ox and Kim hurried straight for the school ready for battle. They emerged from the forest to see Yokai's math and gym teachers, Ririko Kagome and Okuto Kotsubo respectively, waiting for them.

"Well, so nice of you to come," Kagome said, "You may be an unwanted guest to our school, but please, allow us to give you a traditional Yokai Academy welcome."

"As per regulations," Kotsubo continued, "We are required, by law, to kill any human who even sees this place. For you to come and attack our school, we must use every means at our disposal to carry out this sentence."

The teachers then assumed their monster forms, Kagome obtaining the lower body of a snake with a flower-like appendage at the tip, and Kotsubo sprouting octopus tentacles from his back.

"A lamia and a kraken," Ox observed, "Both very powerful monsters on their own, but together, they make a deadly combination. Just be careful of the lamia's tail. If she catches you, she'll bring you under her control."

"You don't have to worry about me," Kim told him, "I'm not letting that thing anywhere near me. Just try not to get yourself killed."

Ox rushed in to meet his opponents while Kim stood behind him to cover him with her flamethrower-like lantern. Jacqueline's flame cloaked Ox in a wall of fire that hid him from the monsters' view. Kotsubo fired a stream of water from the octopus-like growth on his back and quickly extinguished the vortex of flames. Before he could react, however, Ox leapt out of the steam with electricity crackling from his spear ready to strike at the kraken. Only Kagome's lightning-quick moves kept her coworker alive, parrying the attack with her tail. Ox tried to get away, but was tripped up by Kotsubo's tentacles. As Ox fell to the ground, Kagome opened the flower on her tail and prepared to strike.

"It's over now," she told him, "Prepare to die!"

"NOOOOOOO!"

Kim rushed to Ox and pushed him out of the way of Kagome's attack, getting herself pinned by the flower in the process.

"Foolish girl," Kagome said, "Trying to sacrifice yourself to save your friend isn't going to help you. But if you're so eager to throw your life away, then DIE!"

"You leave her alone!"

Ox recovered from the shock and rushed at Kagome. He slashed at her tail, causing blood to gush out and for her to release Kim from her grasp.

"Why you little-!" Kagome started

"ROYAL THUNDER!"

An intense burst of lightning burst from Ox's spear, electrocuting Kagome and Kotsubo and blasting them back. They landed in a crumpled heap in front of them. Ox dropped to his knees due to the strain of the powerful attack.

"Ox!" Kim called out as she rushed to his side, "Are you all right?"

"I should be the one asking you that," he panted, "You're not hurt are you?"

"Idiot," she told him, "Why did you do that? I would have been just fine on my own!"

Before Ox could answer, he spotted a girl, a little younger than they were, running towards them. She stopped when she saw the way Ox was looking at her. He struggled to his feet and prepared to attack.

"No you can't!" Kim yelled as she grabbed onto Ox, "You can't hurt her!"

"What are you talking about?" he asked, "I'm just fine. I can handle-"

"No, you don't understand," she interrupted, "I'm not going to let you hurt her. She's my little sister!"

Ox froze when he heard that. When Kim's sister approached them, he could see the family resemblance between the two.

"Wait a minute," he started, "If she's here, and she's your sister… that means she's… and that would make you…"

He never got to finish his thought. Kagome and Kotsubo slowly got up from the heap they had been thrown in and readied to fight again.

"Ooh, how dare you?" Kagome growled, "I'm a teacher! That means I deserve to be treated with the utmost respect!"

The teachers rushed at them with murder in their eyes. Ox tried to prepare to fight, but the exhaustion from his last attack still had the better of him and he dropped to the ground again. With no other option, Kim reluctantly stood between her friends and the attackers.

"Wait, Kim," Ox started, "What are you…"

"I'm sorry you have to see this…" she told him, "Soul Protect… Release."

As soon as she dropped the spell, a wave of energy emanated from Kim, causing Kagome and Kotsubo to freeze in their tracks. Kim began to chant her next spell, lifting the two teachers into the air and then launching them far away. Ox stared in amazement as Kim turned to face him with tears streaming down her face.

"You…" Ox started, "You're a witch?"

"I'm so sorry," she apologized, "I never wanted you to see me like this. You were always so kind to me no matter what I did. That's why I tried to keep this a secret from you. I was afraid you might not like me anymore if you found out that I was a witch. I just didn't want to hurt you. So if you hate me for what I am or what I've done, I won't blame you. I just wish…"

Before Kim could finish, Ox walked up to her and gently wrapped his arms around her, catching her by surprise.

"It doesn't matter," he told her, "If you're a witch or not. You're still the same Kim Diehl that I know and love no matter what. That's all that I need to know."

Overcome with emotion, Kim held on tightly to Ox and wept openly on his shoulder. Ox held her in a loving embrace that seemed to last an eternity. Harvar and Jacqueline stood off to the side holding hands as they let their meisters have their moment.

"Anyway," Ox said once Kim had stopped crying, "I think we should probably leave now. I don't think either of us are in the condition to fight, and we have to look out for your sister too."

"You're right," she agreed, "We need to get Amy as far from here as possible."

They left the school, heading deep into the woods and far from the battlefield and all its bloodshed.


	6. Chapter 5 second half

Crona managed to work his way around the school to where he was supposed to be. But still, even though he was in enemy territory, his mind wasn't focused on the job that he had to do. He was preoccupied with other things.

"Hey Crona," Ragnarok interrupted, "Wake up in there! What the hell is wrong with you? You've been acting strange ever since we first met these monsters."

"Huh?" Crona said returning to earth, "Oh, it's nothing Ragnarok."

"Don't lie to me!" he responded, "I'm inside of you. You and I are linked by more than our souls. And you've been spinning me through that heart of yours so fast that I've been getting dizzy!"

Before Crona could come up with a reasonable excuse, he saw Mizore approaching him from the school. An icy mist surrounded her, but her ice claws were still very much visible. Crona's heart skipped a beat when he saw her.

"Well, this is a surprise," Mizore told him, "What are you doing here Crona?"

"You know my name?" he asked.

"Of course," she answered, "That sword of yours isn't exactly quiet. Still, you shouldn't have come here. You and your school have come to attack my friends. I can't let that happen."

"No, that's not it," Crona insisted, "I just wanted to see you again. I don't want to hurt you."

"I don't want to have to hurt you either," Mizore told him, "But I can't let you hurt my friends."

She put her hand on his chest, cutting a small slit with her claws.

"Please don't be mad," she continued, "I'm only doing this to protect my friends."

Before either could react, a long, sharp needle erupted from the wound on Crona's chest, impaling Mizore in the heart. Crona stared at Mizore in pure shock.

"My God," Ragnarok groaned, "What would you do without me, Crona? Good thing my Bloody Needle was there to save your sorry butt."

"I see," Mizore said, "That was a rather clever attack."

Crona looked down at where the needle skewered Mizore. The area around the needle appeared to be made of solid ice.

"Unfortunately for you," Mizore continued, "The me that you see here is only an ice doll I created using my powers. The real me is somewhere else."

Instinctively, Crona swung his sword and the ice doll shattered. Just then, many more clones of Mizore appeared and had him surrounded.

"You cannot beat me," Mizore's voice echoed, "I have the power to bend ice to my will. I'm not giving you the upper hand again."

"Crona," Ragnarok said, "You have to get your head out of the clouds. If you don't, you're going to get yourself killed, and if you die, so do I! So get your head in the game!"

"Right," he said lifting his sword in the air, "I'm sorry about this. Scream Resonance."

Ragnarok let loose an earsplitting screech which caused the very air to vibrate violently. Each of the ice dolls shattered into shards of ice, save for one, the real Mizore, who was blasted back several feet. Crona rushed to her side.

"You actually came?" he asked her.

"I had to," Mizore coughed, "I can't control so many ice dolls at once. I had to make sure that they didn't hurt you. They were only supposed to scare you so you would leave and not get hurt."

"You mean," Crona gasped, "You were trying to protect me?"

She nodded.

"That's so nice." He told her, "Nobody's ever cared about me like that before."

Crona helped Mizore back on her feet and carried her away from the fight.

Flying high over Yokai Academy, Kid was observing the chaotic war that raged on below. He had conflicting thoughts about this battle. On the one hand, it was his duty as a Grim Reaper to purge the world of evil. And yet, were these monsters really the evil ones? When it came down to it, the DWMA was the one attacking without provocation. Was there something he wasn't seeing about this scene?

"Kid, what's up?" Liz asked him, "Is something wrong?"

"I'm just wondering," Kid answered, "Are we really doing the right thing?"

"Of course we are," Patty told him, "There are monsters. They eat people. We have to keep them from hurting anyone."

"Perhaps you're right," he admitted, "But I can't help but think that there's something I've forgotten. I seem to remember Father telling me something about Yokai Academy many years ago. I wonder if we might actually be the bad guys here."

Before he could contemplate that thought further, he was struck from below by something moving so fast that even he couldn't see what it was. It hit him with the force of a truck and sent him careening back to earth. He landed in the back of the schoolyard, far from the main battlefield. He looked around to see what hit him.

"Well," a voice behind him said, "I didn't expect to see you here."

Kid whipped around to find Gin standing on the roof of the school. He looked down at him with recognition.

"I remember you," Kid told him.

"I don't believe we were formally introduced," Gin responded as he jumped down to the ground, "I'm Ginei Morioka, president of the Newspaper Club you attacked the last time we met."

"You can call me Death the Kid," he answered, "I am a Grim Reaper, and I judge you."

Kid began to unleash his powers as a Grim Reaper, executing a perfect three-way Soul Resonance between him and his partners. His partners' weapon forms changed to those of large cannons on each of his arms. His power pulsated from him into each of the guns.

"Resonance stable," Liz stated, "Noise level at 2.56%."

"Black needle resonance fully charged," Patty added.

"Ready to fire," Liz continued, "In three…"

"Two…"

"One."

"Firing now," Patty squeaked.

"Death Cannon," Kid growled.

Kid fired two massive shots of energy toward Gin. The cannon shots raced toward the werewolf and detonated on impact. The shot blew a hole through to the other side of the school and left a huge cloud of smoke. The Thompson sisters returned to their normal pistol forms.

"That should take care of him," Kid said to himself.

"You're strong, Kid," Gin told him from behind, "But it's not enough to beat me."

Before Kid could react, Gin, in his full monster form, kicked him in the back and sent him tumbling several feet.

"Are you serious?" Kid asked, "The Death Cannon didn't finish him off?"

"Don't you know anything?" Gin taunted, "Werewolves are fast to begin with, but we get even faster with the light of the moon. And tonight is the brightest night of all; the full moon! A werewolf under the full moon… is invincible!"

Gin dashed around Kid at supersonic speed, so that Kid could no longer sense where he was, much less see him. Even with his own speed and immense power, this was turning into a one-sided fight.

"Damn," he cursed to himself, "I can't hold out for too much longer. I can only hope the others are able to finish this mission quickly."

While his friends chose to take a more stealthy approach at getting around the school, Black Star instead went straight through the battlefield, fighting every monster that crossed his path. Eventually, he managed to break free of the main battle and made his way to the back of the school next to an old, dead tree.

"Man, that was too easy!" he said to himself, "I could handle monsters like that in my sleep!"

"Be careful, Black Star," Tsubaki cautioned, "We can't afford to draw attention to ourselves yet."

"Damn it," Black Star yelled, ignoring Tsubaki's admonition, "Isn't there anyone who can even give me a challenge?!"

"I think I'd like to give it a shot," a familiar voice said.

"What?" Black Star jumped, "Who said that?"

"Up here."

He turned around and looked up the tree. Kurumu was sitting on one of the branches looking down at him.

"We meet again," she told him, "Though I think that this is the last time that we'll be meeting like this."

"Yeah, right," Black Star yelled, "'Cause I'm going to beat you in a bigger way than you can imagine!"

"Well," Kurumu purred, "We'll see about that."

As soon as she said that, the earth began to shake, knocking Black Star onto his backside. The ground was shaking so much that it looked like the tree was starting to move on its own. Wait… the tree really WAS moving on its own. The branches started to move around like they were arms and a terrifying face appeared on the trunk.

"What the crap?!" Black Star exclaimed, "What's going on around here?!"

Tree roots erupted from the ground and lashed out at Black Star. They wrapped themselves around him so tightly that he could not move at all.

"What's happening?" he asked, "My body… Why won't it do what I'm telling it to? I can't feel my power anymore…"

"Get ahold of yourself, Black Star," Tsubaki told him, "This is an illusion conjured by that succubus. She's using this to keep you from attacking so she can take you out in one shot."

"My, aren't you the clever one," Kurumu said from the air, "But it's too late for you now. All I have to do now is slice you into salami!"

"Damn it," Black Star growled, "You're not going to hold me back with illusions! Tsubaki: Enchanted Sword Mode!"

Tsubaki changed her weapon form into that of a black katana. A powerful energy emanated from the blade.

"Do you really think," Kurumu taunted, "That you're going to beat my illusions with that letter opener?"

"You shouldn't underestimate me," Black Star warned her, "Shadow Star!"

Black Star's shadow erupted from underneath him in the form of a black flame surrounding him. The shadow sliced through Kurumu's illusions with ease.

"What the hell?!" Kurumu exclaimed, "How could you beat my illusions so easily? Do you know how hard I worked to perfect that move?!"

"Oh, don't worry," Black Star said, "I've got more."

Although Black Star's method of attack was certainly unorthodox, it did help skew the battle in the DWMA's favor. Before long, the monsters were getting defeated one by one and the meisters started slowly approaching the school. Tsukune, Yukari and Ruby were watching the losing battle from afar.

"This is bad," Tsukune said, "We can't hold out for much longer."

"We've got to get out of here!" Yukari screamed, "They're going to kill us if they find us here!"

"But we can't leave our friends here," Ruby said, "We have to make sure everyone else is safe before we can leave."

"But what can we do?" Yukari asked, "We can't fight if we have our Soul Protects on, and if we drop them, we'll have a big target on our backs. I want to help them too, but we can't even help ourselves right now. We're at the end of our rope here."

"Still," Ruby insisted, "There must be something we can do."

"No, it's over."

Everyone turned to see Maka approaching them with her scythe at the ready.

"You were doomed the minute we met," she told them, "And now it's time for you to pay for your transgressions."

Tsukune stood in between Maka and his friends, ready to give his life to protect them.

"No Tsukune, you can't!" Ruby told him, "She's too powerful for you!"

"Ruby's right!" Yukari added, "You're going to get yourself killed!"

"I know that," he told them, "But hopefully, I can hold her off long enough for you two to get away. Just be sure to get as far away as you can."

"That's not going to work," Maka informed them, "My Soul Perception can sense the souls of witches even when they have Soul Protect on. So no matter where you go, I'll still be able to find you. So now, at last, your soul is mine!"

Maka rushed in to attack her targets. But before her blade could connect, Kokoa jumped in to block the attack with Kou transformed into a giant mace.

"Kokoa," Tsukune started, "What…?"

"Don't get the wrong idea," she told him, "I'm not doing this for you. I just want to get revenge for hurting my sister."

"You can't delude yourself like that," Maka warned her, "I'm not letting you stand in my way."

"Ha, don't flatter yourself," Kokoa said, "Do you really think you have a chance against a vampire? I could destroy you with the bat of an eye. As a member of the legendary Shuzen family, I will do everything in my power-"

Before Kokoa could finish her sentence, Maka hit her with Witch Hunter and sent her flying far.

"Now with that out of the way," Maka said, "It's time for you to die. Your last chance has failed, and now, you're defenseless."

"Wrong," an all too familiar voice said, "They've still got me."

Everyone turned to see Moka emerging from the woods walking straight towards them. She glared at Maka with a burning anger in her eyes.

"It's you," Maka gasped.

"One win and one loss," Moka observed, "This will be the final battle to determine the victor."

"Moka?!" Tsukune exclaimed, "We've missed you so much! Where have you been all this time?"

"Until that day," she answered, "I have never lost a fight. As I lay in that cursed hospital bed, I felt nothing but the bitter taste of defeat. I knew I had to get stronger so I could get my revenge. I left school so I could train myself so that I might be able to defeat her and regain my pride."

"I see," Maka said, "Then let's both give all we've got. My name's Maka Albarn and I'm a Scythe Meister. And you are?"

"Moka Akashiya," she answered, "Strongest of all monsters."

"Moka," Maka said, "I can certainly respect a drive to get stronger. I myself was there once. I knew that I had to do my best to protect someone very important to me; the one that I love more than anything else. I'm sensing that there's someone you love that you want to protect too, right?"

"Enough talk," Moka told her, "Now we fight."

"Fair enough," she agreed, "Ready Soul?"

"Let's do it," he said.

"Soul Resonance."

Power surged between Maka and Soul as their resonance built their power higher and higher. Before they could raise their resonance too high, Moka appeared behind them.

"Too slow," she told them.

Moka tried to kick them from behind, but Maka managed to avoid the attack. She kept up the pressure to keep Maka from raising her resonance. Soon, Maka was backed into a tree and Moka prepared to launch a finishing attack. Instead, Maka used the resonance she had already achieved to use Witch Hunter to lock blows with Moka. The vampire easily overpowered her, but Maka used the force of the blow to vault herself over Moka and a considerable distance from her, allowing her to complete her Soul Resonance.

"It's over now," she told Moka, "Genie Hunter!"

Soul's blade transformed into his and Maka's signature attack. Unlike last time, Moka seemed ready for this.

"Sorry to break this to you," she told her, "But that little parlor trick isn't going to help you this time. Didn't you hear? I've been training specifically to beat you in battle, so I've got one more trick up my sleeve."

Moka extended her arms and they transformed into a mass of large razor-sharp bat wings. The appearance of her new weapon alone struck fear in Maka's heart.

"Whoa, Moka?!" Tsukune yelled, "How did you do that?!"

"It's a little trick I learned from my sister," she explained, "Vampires are capable of transforming into any kind of animal, but most consider it beneath them to do so. I simply used this technique to create a deadly weapon that, combined with my vampire strength, can easily match the Genie Hunter."

"Is that so?" Maka asked, "We'll just have to see won't we?"

Maka and Moka each rushed at each other. They each traded blows one after another, neither one giving an inch. As the two prepared for one final blow, they put all their energy into one deadly attack.

"ENOUGH!"

Both combatants froze just inches from each other. The voice rang throughout the air and all fighting stopped. Just then, light erupted from the center of Yokai Academy, and the astral image of two figures appeared. One of which was Lord Death, while the other was a mysterious robed figure with glowing eyes.

"Lord Death!" Maka exclaimed, "But, who's that with him?"

"That's the Academy's headmaster," Moka said, "Tenmei Mikogami."

"Do not fight these monsters," Lord Death commanded in his original voice, "They are not the enemy."  
"Students," Mikogami said, "You must not attack these guests."

"Lord Death," Maka called out, "I don't understand. What's going on here?"

"Oh, Maka," Lord Death said in his normal voice, "So sorry about losing connection, but I had another call."

"Another call?" she asked, "What does that mean?"

"That would be me," Mikogami answered, "When Lord Death's army showed up at my school, I knew that there must have been some sort of misunderstanding."

"You see," Lord Death continued, "Mikogami and I go way back; he used to be a part of my personal guard many years ago. When he left, he helped to found Yokai Academy to promote a peaceful coexistence between monsters and humans. Naturally, I gave him my blessing to help create that coexistence."

"But then," Maka started, "If you two are friends, why did you have us attack Ruby in the first place?"

"Well," he began, "I never realized that she was under his care as his assistant. When you told me about the school, I didn't quite place that it was, in fact, Mikogami's Academy. I guess my mind has been a little slippery lately. Anyway, I would like to apologize to everyone for my mistakes, and hope that we can learn to get along after all."

"Feh," Moka scoffed, "What do I care about some stupid mistake? My anger still burns and I intend to carry out my revenge."

Moka turned to face Maka, but before she could strike, Tsukune stepped between them.

"What are you doing Tsukune?" Moka asked, "Get out of my way."

"I think that's enough," he told her, "Why don't we all just try to stop fighting and maybe we could become friends."

"Friends?" she said, "Look Tsukune, you can't go around trying to make friends with everybody."

"I know," he answered, "But still, I think we should try to give peace a chance. I don't want you to get hurt, Moka. You mean too much to me. I can't go on without you."

Moka blushed when he said that. She walked up to him and pulled her arm back as if she were going to hit him. Instead, she took the rosary from his hand and walked away.

"I swear," she said, "You're so confusing."

She put the rosary around her neck and transformed back to her usual self. Tsukune caught her as she started to fall and he and Maka helped carry her back to the school.

Later that day, the buses back to the human world arrived to carry the DWMA students back through the barrier. Tsukune and his friends came to see them off.

"It's sad really," Maka said, "If only we'd met under different circumstances, we might have been able to be great friends."

"It's not too late," Moka assured her, "I'm sure we'll see each other again sometime. We can even write to each other if you want."

"Yeah," Maka agreed, "That would be great."

"All right you kids," the bus driver told them, "We'd better get going. The headmaster is going to open a pathway through the Great Barrier so you can get through again, so we have to be there when it opens."

"Well," Maka said to her new friends, "I guess this is goodbye."

"Have a safe trip," Moka called as they boarded the bus, "Hope we'll see each other again sometime."

Maka and Soul took their seats together near their friends. Everyone was talking about how great the Yokai group was when they weren't trying to kill them.

"You know," Soul told his partner, "When they're not fighting us all the time, they're really not half bad."

"Yeah," Maka agreed, "I think they'll be just fine."

"And how about us?" he asked.

Maka held her partner's hand tightly and said, "I think we'll be just fine too."

The buses headed back into the tunnel to the Human World. When the buses disappeared, everyone went back to the Academy talking about their new friends. Tsukune and Moka stood behind a while.

"All's well that ends well, I guess," Moka said, "We may not have gotten to a great start, but I think we can be great friends."

"I agree," Tsukune told her, "I really do look forward to when we can see each other again."

"Now that everything's calmed down," Moka added, "I'm starting to feel really thirsty again."

"Wait," Tsukune started, "You don't mean…?"

CHOMP! Sluuuuuurp…


End file.
